Aliko: We Represent the Kurds, PYD are Assad’s Proxies

Vice-president of Syrian Coalition Nagham al-Ghadiri denied claims that the Kurds are not represented in the Syrian opposition, adding that the Kurdish National Council is a key component of the Syrian opposition and has representatives in the opposition’s negotiating delegation.

Member of the political committee Fuad Aliko, who is also a member of the opposition’s negotiating delegation formed by the High Negotiations Committee, said that over 600,000 Kurds in Syria have signed off on a document recognizing the Kurdish National Council as their representative. This document, he said, will be presented to the United Nations.

Aliko also said that his inclusion in the opposition’s negotiating team is part of a national project aimed at preserving the rights of all Syrians and guaranteeing the rights of the Kurds. This stands to sharp contrast to the situation under the dictatorial rule of the Assad regime, which has long denied the Kurds their civil rights.

Aliko stressed that the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) does not offer a real Kurdish project; is a proxy of the Assad regime; and has nothing to do with the rights of the Kurds. Aliko cited the PYD’s prevention of Peshmerga forces to enter Syria in 2015 to protect the Kurds from ISIS’s onslaught. (Source: Syrian Coalition)